Selectively controllable reversing system for toy train control



June 24, 1958 M. H. FRlsBlE 2,840,007

SELECTIVELY coNTRoLLARLE REvERsING SYSTEM FoR Toy TRAIN CONTROL Filed Feb. 14, 1952 INVENTOI? ATTORNEY United States Pff SELECTIVELY CONTROLLABLE REVERSING SYSTEM FOR TOY TRAIN CONTROL `Marshall H. Frisbe, Hamden, Conn., assignorV to The v A. C. Gilbert-Company, New Haven, Conn., a corpoporation of Maryland" Application February 14,'1'9s2,soria1 No. '271,458 2- claims. (ci. 1mi-:151)

assignee of the present application, along with ai toy Vterremoti Jane 24, 195e tem emboding the invention, in which is included schematically the variable voltage transformer ofFigs.4 1-3.

train carried propulsion motor and traingcarried motor direction reversing relay of'the' electongagnetically stepping type disclosedin United States Patent No`2,196,319, granted April 9, 1940, tol. E. McLoughlin, which patent also is owned by the assignee ofthe present application. A

Y 'An object of the invention is to`avoid unwanted reversing of the direction ofrunning of the train carried propulsion motor as a necessary result ofshifting the transformer control handle to train stopping position;

Heretofore in the manual operation of Ja variable transl Full details of suitable mechanical construction forthe circuit controlling toy transformer are contained in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,661,461, while full details of a train carried relay or electromagnetically operated step switch for automatically starting, stopping and reversing the direction of running of the train propulsion motor are disclosed in the aforesaid United States Patent No. 2,196,319. much of the physical structure involved as is necessary to explain the present system improvements. The train carried parts thatoperate in the system are represented only diagrammati'cally in Fig. 5.

The framework 12 of the train controlling step-down toy transformer is preferably of insulative vmaterial and provides a vertical bearing 17 which guides a plunger shaft 18 and permits rotary as well 'as upward and downwardY sliding movement thereof. Plunger shaft 18 *forms part ofa mechanism which operatively couples a manual transformer control' handle 19 with a current takeoff .conductive wheel 20. The Vlatter rolls across and in cont section 22 of the secondary winding.

former for starting, stopping and determining the speed of running of toy electric trains through the 'action of a train carried, motor'reversing, electromagnetically stepped relay, the armature of the relay has performed a motorreversing automatic steppingmovement each time the operating handle of the voltage varyingtransf'ormer vis swung to train stopping position. At'each s'uchioccurrence the direction of running of the train has gbeen reversed so that on successive renewals of current "supply to the track the train is caused alternately to run forward and backward.

A specific object of the present improvement is so to condition a toy (train circuit electrically in the normal zero speed, Yor train stopping, position of a voltage varying transformer control y.handle that the Vpropulsion mo- Fig. k1 a side yiew of` a yoltagevarying transformer especially adaptedfor lpr'ac'ticingthe invention with `its j' casingpartially/broken awayl to expose some of the in- Ltsiorrrs'- t ji. "l

' entary planview taken in'section on i. LFigiS .e frag the planetZ-A-Z in `Fig. 1. Y. .y

j ,'Fig. 3v is a fragmentary view'in`i'e'ar`felevation looking jinther directionof the 'arrows from-the;plane i- 3 in Figssis a wiriogikiiagiaii ofi-a complete 'eleccion-sys! To. serve as 'a voltage varying or voltage selecting member, take-olf wheel 20 is rotatably carried at the end of 'a' sweep arm 26 in a manner to ksweep valong the arcuate track 23' in an varc centered at aV stationary pivot 27 that'is fixed on and insulated from theA transformer core 24 by means of a bridgeibar 30 of insulating material. Sweep arm 26 comprisesa thin resilient metallic leaf conductor that isbiased* to ex upward so thatt'akeoff wheel 20 tendsto be lifted therebyv out of-contact with the track of current taps 23 at all points in its arcuate path of swinging movement. The tail end -of sweep arm 26 is in permanent electrical connection with a flexible take-off lead 31 which trails the swinging movements Vof the sweep arm. i

The movements of sweep arm 26 to various voltage determining positions are caused and/or permitted by a superimposed resilient leaf type of actuating arm 32. This arm is carried xedly on the atted lower end of plunger shaft 18 by means of a hub 34 havinga hole correspondingly atted tot the shaft tightly. Actuating-arr'n 32 is provided with turned Vdown flanges 33 spaced widely enough apart to flank loosely the edges of sweep arm 26 so that bind preventing, free, relative, longitudinal, sliding movement between sweep arm 26 and its actuating arm 32 is permitted between the anges 33. Sweep arm 26,' however, is caused to follow the swinging movement 'ofthe -actuatingparm 32 at all times and 'can be flexed arm 32. While depressed into the positionshown in Fig.

`B take-off Wheel 20, preferably made of carbon, rolls across and inconductive contact with the current taps or bared wire surfaces of the transformer secondary -coil 23 in arcuate track 23'.

Fig. 1 shows in broken lines an upwardly slanting posipressure thereagainst of plunger shaft 18 `when handle 19-i's releasedby the hand of the operator. fPivotpin '44' is vvixed in the turret head 40. Thegupwardxthrustof Hence there is illustrated herein only asv the current to terminal plate 62 means of a lead 73.

shaft" 18 on handle 19 is caused by the axial expanding 'tendency of .a `spring 36 in the hollow 38 ofthe turret head, which spring presses iipward against a thrust collar 37 xed 1on plunger shaft 18. Spring 36 is `sufficiently weak "on handle V, 1`9.` `This normally depresses ,plunger Vshaft 18 `tfitsfu`ll`1ne position 'in Fig; 1.` I may, if desired, ,fasten aspr'ingfslip'BSon the Vturret h'ead whichwill receive and tend t'ofrestrainhandle 19 'in its full line position against thelifting-.tcndency of spring 36, so that upward swinging offthefhandleto its broken line positionY requires lifting "of -the"handle deliberately byhand. `In` the broken line position'of handle 1'9, actuating arm 32 is elevated and -this permits sweep arm26 toilex' upward suiciently to `li'ftitake-offwheel 20 ,olf and outof contact with track 2`3` atfanyp'oint ,therealong i v v4Turret head 40 `is a hollow rotary body preferably of `insulating material and (turns in unison with the horiture pawl 13S. 'pulsed downward strokes `pawl 135 engages and pushes Cfr Zontalfswing'ing of. control handle 19. By serving as a Ahnb for `this`handle it enables the 4latter tobe swung-from y'side .tos'idebecauseof its own freedom to swivel with a rotary fit on- `the external surface of'frame, bearing 17. T urret head 40 is cansed to swing horizontally by means `ofhandle .19 because. the latter occupies a diametrical fchanrelZl in the former. The turret Vhead is Aheld down in theframe `well 14 by` any suitable number of retainscrew'sisuch as'414 which extend slidably through arcuate slots 42 inthe oor walljof the well so as to permit arcuate scale 511 of graduations on, the casing of the framework which graduations `are suitablyV marked lby indicia to designatemake-believe speed of the train in miles-per-hour. Spur 50 can also serve to limit the swinging of vthe handlein'rop'posite rotary directions by engaging with .a frame carried stop stud 52 located at the Y ffull speed end fof scale 51 and by engaging with an- `other` frame carriedstop stud 52 `located .at the trainstopped end of the scale.

(A, ynovel `feature `of the vpresent improvements in toy operating system isprefenably incorporated within Vthe casing of the -t'oy train controlling transformer. Thisv includes-a resistor 70 permanentlyconnected inA circuit bymeans of lead wires V71, 72, wire 71 leading to a conductive `terminal plate 62 that is contactable by take-off wheel -in theflow voltage position of the latters travel and wire '72 leading to a low voltage point between section 23 and section 22 .of the secondary winding. The

likewise is` contactable by take-off'wheel 20 at the opposite limit of the latters travel. A

Current is `furnished to rail 63 of the vtwo-rail toy track from the sweep arm 26 through the fiexible lead 31. The other rail 64 of the track forms a return path for of the -transformer by Constantly completing va circuit across track rails 63 and .64 there is the solenoidV 131 of a conventional train carried toy electromagnetic step switch or relay, designated 132 Aas `a whole, which `relay as hereinbefore men- `tioned may be constructed as shown in `li`gs.f2, 3,-and'4 `of the drawings, in U. S. Patent No. 2,196,319., Relay 132 is carried onany toy rolling stock 149, such as the Vlocomotive ofa toy train. yA conventional, train carried, A. C.operated, propulsion motor v14S iselectrically and mechanically connected in .any conventional wayto'ir n- Npel` the 4traction wheels .ofthe locomotive or other rolling stock. Motors145 is sequentially started, stopped, re-

versed, `and `then stopped againgzby, increments of un-` L: .of .repeated reciprocative `stroking .excursions of ann armaother or high -voltage Aend of` secondary winding 23 is ,connecteddirectlyto a similar terminal plate 61- which tion. of the control -handle,take-offwheel 20 will have On alternate electromagnetically rimon successive teeth of a ratchet wheel 139 that is xed on contact drum 138. Such strokes of pawl 135 are effected by the magnetic attraction of the solenoid for its armature 135 and are Yyieldingly opposed by the armature returning spring 137.

The motorjstarting, stopping and reversing action of contact .drum 146is well'kn0wn in the art and further will be apparentfrom the diagram vof circuit connections in Fig. 5.` If preferred, the step `switch 132 may .be constructed in accordance with 'drawingfFigs 3 to l0., inclusive, of my U. S. Patent'No. 2,348,616. A

Its varmature may be caused to--strok'e away from the solenoid by a spring 137 or by theweight of gravity. It may be constructed to impe] the teeth of the ratchet wheel either by its solenoid attracted stroke or by its retractive stroke'pthe opposite stroke in each case being idle in respec't, tothe ratchet wheel. In either case :a repetition of the complete upw'ard and downward excursion of the Varmature isfnecessar'y' in order to repeat a current switching increment of rotary movement of the contact drum Within the transformer housing 12 there is an extension 22 of the secondarywinding 23 which, when sweep arm 26 and handle 1'9 are in train stopping or oft position, .furnishesto the r track through resistor 70 aV potential less .than any range of voltage 'that will'enable motor 145 Also in the transformer about -the core 24 there is an auxiliary secondary winding 150 thatfp'ermanently, and

independently'ofthe positions of sweep arm 26,`furnishes snfticientlyhigh voltage to an extra binding post 151 of inPatent No. 2,661,461', are vavoltrneter 53, anammeter 54, a -low voltage binding post 66 an overload 4protective Vcircuit `breaker; .a red signal lamp 57 and a green signal `lamp v58. The( transformerv windings are adapted -to yreceive alternating current from an ordinary 60 cycle house line at, say 110 volts,'through an vattachment cord 152.v A switch .153- may be provided-in the attachment cord forfcutting off current to the transformer without pulling ,the receptacleplug 154.

In operation the train will be stopped on the track whenever control handle 19 of the transformer 12 occupies a jposition wherein its index pointer 50 registers with the, zero mark on the scale 51 of miles-per-hour indicia `in Fig. A4. The A.trainnwill also be stopped whenever the control handle :19 V is lifted to its Vupwardly inclined broken line position in Fig. 1V whatever may be the track sweeping position offtake-oi roller 20'between the limits Lofitsswingingmovement shown in broken lines in Fig. 2. Forucausing thgtrain-to run, control handle 19 will be depressed-intof-,its--full line position in Fig. 1, wherein -it can yieldably beheld if `desired by the spring clip 35. In this,htninontaln position of- 'the control 4handle it may be swung clockwise toward-its position shown in Fig. 4 any degree ot-,intermediate swinging movement until the been rolled along its conductive track 23' toits .broken lineposition resting-0n terminal plate61 in Figs. 2 and 3.

This will cause the `maximum voltage that can be induced inzthe `transformer;` secondary 213-22 `to be delivered to lead 31. Thisv maximum voltage of, say, sixteen .volts f :can be reduced in small train speed reducing increments to a potential'that is within the rangesay, of one to s ixj -volts as they-takeoff wheel `20 A sweeps .along track 23 counterclockwise in Fig. 2 until it arrives in contact with terminal plate 62 as shown in broken lines in Figs. 2 and 3. Potentials between seven volts and sixteen volts are examples of a selected range of track voltage throughout which the propulsion motor 125 of toy vtrain rolling stock 149 is adapted to be energized sufficiently to impel the train. However a potential, say, of ve volts delivered at terminal plate 62 when index 50 points to zero miles per hour on scale 51 is within the aforesaid rangeof one to six volts that is below the above said range of train running voltage, and in this lower selected range of, say, one to six volts, the solenoid 131 of the stepping relay 132 if wound for example with about 950 turns of No. 31 A. W. G. gage of copper wire, a resistance of about 16.7 ohms, will continue to attract its contact stepping armature 135 with sutcient magnetic force to maintain the latter in its broken line position in Fig. 5 against the constant retractive pull of spring 137.

Hence in the above said zero position of index pointer 50 the train as usual will be stopped on its tracks until control handle 19 is again swung clockwise in Fig. 4 to increase the track voltage and cause the train to be restarted. But when so restarted, the train will run in the same direction as it did before it was stopped because in the absence of a stepping excursion of armature 135 the direction reversing contact drum 146 of relay 132 has not been advanced rotatively so as to reverse the direction of supply of current to motor 145.

It is the new principle of this invention that motor reversing can be accomplished only by lifting control handle 19 into its broken line position in Fig. 1 whereupon the track 63, 64 will be deprived of all potential or of so much potential that solenoid 131 will become suiciently deenergized to release armature 135 to the retractive pull of spring 137. This lifts the armature to its full line position in Fig. 5 and now, when current is next restored to the track by depressing handle 19, not only will the train be startedby a solenoid attracted downward stroke of relay armature 135 but the accompanying stepping of the contact drum 146 an increment of its turning will have caused reversal of current supply through the motor 145 whereupon the latter impels the rolling stock 149 in a direction opposite to that in which it was traveling before last being stopped.

The invention thus involves a specially equipped train controlling variable transformer a part of whose secondary 25 with resistance wire 70 combined therewith or substituted therefor normally continues to supply sutiicient low voltage to the track after the train is stopped thereby to prevent train reversing action of relay 132 and yet which can be manipulated in a special manner at any time thereby to reverse the direction of train running by purposely cutting off -all current to the track and restoring it again.

The present improvements can be embodied in various structures and electric circuiting arrangements falling within the principles of the invention and diiering from those herein illustrated and described but that will be suggested by the disclosure hereof, wherefore the appended claims are directed to and intended to cover all fair equivalents coming within the broadest interpretation of the language in the claims.

I claim:

1. An electrical system for starting, stopping and varying the speed and direction of running of toy railway rolling stock by manipulation of a single handle in a remote controller of current supplied to the railway track, comprising, track-borne toy rolling stock carrying a variable speed reversible alternating current propulsion motor having circuit connections by which to derive current from the track, a variable transformer connected to supply alternating current at variable voltage to the track having a control handle manually shiftable in a voltage reducing path and in a current cut olf different path for stopping said motor respectively without or with reversal of the direction of subsequent running thereof, a current take-olf member differently actuated by shifting of said control handle in said dilerent paths, a series of separately insulated voltage taps in said transformer arranged to be contacted successively by said take-olf member when the latter is actuated by shifting of said handle in said current reducing path, means to prevent shifting of said handle in current reducing direction in said current reducing path beyond a position at which a predetermined minimum voltage is supplied to the track insuicient to propel the rolling stock, a stepping switch carried by said rolling stock having electric contacts operative to make and break and reverse said circuit connections between said motor and the track, and a stroking electromagnet operative to step said switch to reverse said circuit connections responsively to cut off of current from said track including a solenoid deriving energizing current from the track so electrically wound that said electromagnet is insulilciently responsive to reduction of track voltage to said predetermined minimum to step said switch, whereby motor reversing stepping action of said switch responsive to shifting of said handle in said current reducing path is prevented.

2. An electrical system for starting, stopping and varying the speed and direction of running of toy railway rolling stock by manipulation of a remote control means supplying current to the railway track, comprising, trackborne toy rolling stock carrying a variable speed reversible alternating current propulsion motor having circuit connections by which to derive current from the track, a variable transformer connected to supply alternating current at variable voltage to a circuit including the track, control means for stopping said motor without 0r with reversal of the direction of subsequent running thereof including manually shiftable meansto vary the voltage in said circuit and also manually operable means to interrupt said circuit, stop means mechanically associated with said voltage varying means in a manner to prevent manual shifting of the latter in current reducing direction beyond a position at which a predetermined minimum voltage is supplied to the track insufficient to propel the rolling stock, a stepping switch carried by said rolling stock having'electric contacts operative to make and break and reverse circuit connections between said motor and the track, and a stroking electromagnet operative to step said switch to reverse said circuitconnections responsively to cut olf of current from said track including a solenoid deriving energizing current from the track so electrically wound that said electromagnet is insuiciently responsive to reduction of track voltage to said predetermined minimum to step said switch, whereby motor reversing stepping action of said switch responsive to shifting of said voltage varying means is prevented.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

